Vapor generation device

ABSTRACT

A vapor generation device is configured to heat an aerosol-forming article to generate an aerosol for inhalation, the device including a housing, where the housing is internally provided with: a cavity; at least one heater, configured to heat the aerosol-forming article; and a support mechanism, constructed to surround at least a part of the cavity, where an inner surface of the support mechanism is provided with a plurality of first protrusions and a plurality of second protrusions spaced along a circumferential direction to clamp the aerosol-forming article received in the cavity; and the plurality of first protrusions and the plurality of second protrusions are arranged sequentially along an axial direction of the support mechanism. The vapor generation device simultaneously clamps the aerosol-forming article at different heights through double-layer protrusions inside, so that the aerosol-forming article can be stably received in the vapor generation device, and transfer heat with a heater.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No.2020221482170, filed with the China National Intellectual PropertyAdministration on Sep. 25, 2020 and entitled “VAPOR GENERATION DEVICE”,which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to the field of heat-not-burn cigarette devicetechnologies, and in particular, to a vapor generation device.

BACKGROUND

Tobacco products (such as cigarettes and cigars) burn tobacco during useto produce tobacco smoke. Attempts are made to replace thesetobacco-burning products by manufacturing products that releasecompounds without being burnt.

An example of this type of products is a heating device that releasescompounds by heating rather than burning materials. For example, thematerial may be tobacco or other non-tobacco products, where thenon-tobacco products may or may not contain nicotine. As anotherexample, there is a heating device that heats the tobacco productscircumferentially to cause the tobacco products to release compounds togenerate an aerosol, and the tobacco products are received in theheating device through a heating cavity. As a known prior art, in orderto ensure that the tobacco products can be smoothly received in theheating device, a size of an inner diameter of a receiving cavity isusually slightly greater than an outer diameter of the tobacco products.As a result, the tobacco products shake after being received in thereceiving cavity, which affects heat transfer with a heater.

SUMMARY

An embodiment of this application provides a vapor generation device,configured to heat an aerosol-forming article to generate an aerosol forinhalation, the device including a housing, where the housing isinternally provided with:

-   -   a cavity, configured to receive the aerosol-forming article;    -   at least one heater, configured to heat the aerosol-forming        article; and    -   a support mechanism, constructed to surround at least a part of        the cavity, where an inner surface of the support mechanism is        provided with a plurality of first protrusions and a plurality        of second protrusions spaced along a circumferential direction,        configured to provide support along a radial direction for        inhalable materials received in the cavity to clamp the        aerosol-forming article received in the cavity; and the        plurality of first protrusions and the plurality of second        protrusions are arranged sequentially along an axial direction        of the support mechanism.

In an optional implementation, the plurality of first protrusions andthe plurality of second protrusions are staggered from each other alongthe axial direction of the support mechanism.

In an optional implementation, one of the plurality of first protrusionsand the plurality of second protrusions is rigid, and the other isflexible.

In an optional implementation, the housing is provided with a receivinghole at one end, and the aerosol-forming article is received detachablyin the cavity through the receiving hole;

the plurality of first protrusions are closer to the receiving hole thanthe plurality of second protrusions; and the plurality of firstprotrusions are constructed as long and thin strips extending along theaxial direction of the support mechanism, and the second protrusion isconstructed in a circular shape.

In an optional implementation, a surface of the second protrusion isprovided with a long and thin slit or groove extending along the axialdirection of the support mechanism.

In an optional implementation, the support mechanism includes an annularrigid support member and an annular flexible support member arrangedcoaxially; and

the plurality of first protrusions are formed on the inner surface ofthe rigid support member, and the plurality of second protrusions areformed on the inner surface of the flexible support member.

In an optional implementation, the flexible support member includes aninner wall and an outer wall arranged sequentially from inside tooutside along the radial direction, and a clamping cavity formed betweenthe inner wall and the outer wall; and the rigid support member is atleast partially retained in the clamping cavity.

In an optional implementation, the cavity includes a near end and a farend facing away from each other along the axial direction;

-   -   the support mechanism includes a first support member with the        first protrusion and a second support member with the second        protrusion; and the first support member is adjacent to the near        end of the cavity, and the second support member is adjacent to        the far end of the cavity.

In an optional implementation, the plurality of first protrusions have asurface friction coefficient different from that of the plurality ofsecond protrusions.

In an optional implementation, the plurality of first protrusions and/orthe plurality of second protrusions are symmetrically arranged along acentral axis of the support mechanism.

In an optional implementation, at least a part of the surfaces of theplurality of first protrusions is constructed to be inclined, so as toprovide guidance when the inhalable materials are received in thecavity.

The above vapor generation device simultaneously clamps theaerosol-forming article at different heights through double-layerprotrusions inside, so that the aerosol-forming article can be stablyreceived in the vapor generation device, and then stably transfer heatwith a heater.

Another embodiment of this application further provides a vaporgeneration device, configured to heat an aerosol-forming article togenerate an aerosol for inhalation, the device including a housing,where the housing is internally provided with:

-   -   a cavity, configured to receive the aerosol-forming article;    -   at least one heater, configured to heat the aerosol-forming        article; and    -   a support mechanism, including a rigid support member and a        flexible support member, at least a part of the rigid support        member surrounding the cavity, where    -   the flexible support member is provided with an outer surface        and an inner surface opposite to each other along a radial        direction, the inner surface is provided with a plurality of        protrusions spaced along a circumferential direction of the        cavity, and the protrusion protrudes from the inner surface        toward the cavity to provide an elastically retractable support        along the radial direction for inhalable materials received in        the cavity, so as to clamp the aerosol-forming article.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more embodiments are exemplarily described with reference to thecorresponding figures in the accompanying drawings, and the descriptionsdo not constitute a limitation to the embodiments. Components in theaccompanying drawings that have same reference numerals are representedas similar components, and unless otherwise particularly stated, thefigures in the accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vapor generation device during useaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the vapor generation device in FIG. 1from another perspective;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an internal structure of the vaporgeneration device in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the vapor generationdevice in FIG. 3 along a width direction;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a heater inFIG. 4 ;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a lowersupport mechanism in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 7 is a schematic three-dimensional cross-sectional view of an uppersupport mechanism in FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of each part of the uppersupport mechanism in FIG. 7 before assembly;

FIG. 9 is a schematic exploded view of each part of the upper supportmechanism in FIG. 8 before assembly; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an upper support mechanism and a lowersupport mechanism respectively clamping an aerosol-forming article at anupper end and a lower end close to a cavity according to anotherembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For ease of understanding of this application, this application isdescribed in further detail below with reference to the accompanyingdrawings and specific implementations. It should be noted that, when anelement is expressed as “being fixed to” another element, the elementmay be directly on the another element, or one or more intermediateelements may exist between the element and the another element. When anelement is expressed as “being connected to” another element, theelement may be directly connected to the another element, or one or moreintermediate elements may exist between the element and the anotherelement. The terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “inner”, “outer”,and similar expressions used in this specification are merely used foran illustrative purpose.

Unless otherwise defined, meanings of all technical and scientific termsused in this specification are the same as that usually understood by aperson skilled in the technical field to which this application belongs.The terms used in this specification of this application are merelyintended to describe objectives of the specific implementations, and arenot intended to limit this application. The term “and/or” used in thisspecification includes any or all combinations of one or more relatedlisted items.

An embodiment of this application provides a vapor generation devicethat heats but not burns an aerosol-forming article, such as acigarette, so as to volatilize or release at least one component of theaerosol-forming article to form an aerosol for inhalation.

Based on a preferred implementation, the vapor generation device heatsthe aerosol-forming article by irradiating a far-infrared ray having aheating effect, for example, a far-infrared ray of 3 μm to 15 μm. Duringuse, when a wavelength of the infrared ray matches an absorptionwavelength of a volatile component of the aerosol-forming article, theenergy of the infrared ray is easily absorbed by the aerosol-formingarticle, and the aerosol-forming article is then heated to volatilize atleast one volatile component to generate an aerosol for inhalation.

In another optional implementation, the vapor generation device heatsthe aerosol-forming article by electric resistance or electromagneticinduction heating.

A construction of the vapor generation device according to an embodimentof this application may be shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 . The overallshape of the device is generally constructed into a flat cylinder shape,and an external member thereof includes:

-   -   a main housing 10, having a hollow structure inside, so as to        form an assembling space for assembling each necessary        functional component. The main housing 10 has a near end 110 and        a far end 120 opposite to each other along a length direction,        where    -   the near end 110 is provided with a receiving hole 111, through        which an aerosol-forming article A may be received in the main        housing 10 to be heated or removed from the main housing 10; and    -   the far end 120 is provided with an air inlet hole 121 and a        charging interface 122. The air inlet hole 121 is configured to        allow external air to enter the main housing 10 during        inhalation; and the charging interface 122, such as a USB type-C        interface or a pin interface, is used for charging the vapor        generation device by being connected to an external power source        or an adapter.

Further, an internal construction of the main housing 10 is shown inFIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , including a first compartment 130 and a secondcompartment 140 arranged sequentially along a width direction, where thefirst compartment 130 is an assembling space used for installing anelectronic device, such as an electric core and a circuit board (notshown in the figure), while the second compartment 140 is an assemblingspace used for installing and maintaining a heating mechanism.

Referring to a preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , the heatingmechanism includes:

-   -   a heater 30, constructed into a tubular shape, a tubular hollow        being constructed as a cavity for receiving and heating the        aerosol-forming article A. In an optional implementation, the        heater 30 is a resistance heating tube with a resistance        coefficient, or a metal induction heating tube that is        penetrated by a magnetic field to generate heat, or an infrared        transmitter that radiates infrared rays to the aerosol-forming        article A to heat the aerosol-forming article A.

A heat insulation mechanism 40 is used for heat insulation of the heater30 to prevent the heat of the heater 30 from being transferred outwardto other components or a surface of the main housing 10 to cause heatdamage; and in the preferred implementation of FIG. 4 , the heatinsulation mechanism 40 is a vacuum tube arranged around the heater 30,which conducts heat insulation through a vacuum region formed betweentwo layers of tube walls.

The main housing 10 is further internally provided with:

-   -   an upper support mechanism 50 and a lower support mechanism 60,        respectively providing support for the heater 30 and the heat        insulation mechanism 40 at upper ends and lower ends thereof. In        an implementation, the upper support mechanism 50 and the lower        support mechanism 60 are both constructed into a hollow annular        shape, and positioned coaxially with the heater 30.

An air inlet pipe 20 is positioned between the lower support mechanism60 and the air inlet hole 121 to provide an air flow path between theair inlet hole 121 and the heater 30. The air inlet pipe 20 is also usedto provide support for the lower support mechanism 60, so that the lowersupport mechanism 60 can be stably maintained in the main housing 10. Inthe process of inhalation, the air flow is as shown by an arrow R4 inFIG. 4 . After entering the air inlet pipe 20 from the air inlet hole121, the external air flows into the aerosol-forming article A held inthe heater 30, and then is outputted carrying the generated aerosol.

Further, FIG. 5 shows a schematic structural diagram of a preferredembodiment of the heater 30 heating by radiating infrared rays.

The heater 30 includes: a tubular substrate 31, an inner space of thetubular substrate 31 forming a cavity for receiving and heating theaerosol-forming article A; an infrared emission coating 32, formed on anouter surface of the tubular substrate 31, configured to radiateinfrared rays to the aerosol-forming article A received in the tubularsubstrate 31, thereby heating the aerosol-forming article A; and anelectrode coating 33, formed on the infrared emission coating 32 andconducting electricity with the infrared emission coating 32, and thenconnected to the positive pole/negative pole of the electric core byways of welding pins, conductive rings and the like to supply power tothe infrared emission coating 32.

Generally, in an implementation, the tubular substrate 31 is made ofmaterials with excellent infrared transmission, such as quartz, glass,silicon carbide, ceramics, or mica. The infrared emission coating 32 ispreferably composed of oxides of at least one metal element, such as Mg,Al, Ti, Zr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Cr, and Zn. These metal oxides canradiate far-infrared rays with heating effect when heated to anappropriate temperature. A coating thickness may preferably becontrolled between 30 μm to 50 μm. The electrode coating 33 is made of ametal or alloy with low resistivity, such as silver, gold, palladium,platinum, copper, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, niobium, or the abovemetal alloy materials.

Referring to the lower support mechanism 60 shown in FIG. 6 , the lowersupport mechanism 60 includes: an annular protrusion 61 extending intothe heater 30, and an annular port 62 formed between the annularprotrusion 61 and an outer wall of the lower support mechanism 60.During use, after the annular protrusion 61 extends into the heater 30,material A is drawn and sucked so as to abut against the annularprotrusion 61 to provide a stop for the aerosol-forming article A. Inaddition, the lower end of the heater 30 is inserted into the port 62 tobe fixed.

Further, referring to FIG. 7 to FIG. 9 , the upper support mechanism 50includes: a rigid support member 51 and a flexible support member 52,constructed into an annular shape, where

-   -   the rigid support member 51 is usually made of hard plastic        materials, such as PEEK, and an inner wall thereof is provided        with several long and thin strip protrusions 511 arranged in a        spaced manner along the circumferential direction thereof around        the aerosol-forming article A of the cavity. The long and thin        strip protrusions 511 are designed to be inclined from top to        bottom, so as to provide guidance for inclination during the        operation in which the aerosol-forming article A passes through        the rigid support member 51 when the aerosol-forming article A        is received into the heater 30; and when the aerosol-forming        article A is received into the cavity, the long and thin strip        protrusions 511 can also clamp the aerosol-forming article A.

The flexible support member 52 is flexible, for example, made of silicagel, and an inner wall thereof is provided with several circularprotrusions 521 arranged around the aerosol-forming article Ain thecavity; and the circular protrusions 521 are roughly in a circularshape, and also clamps and fixes the received aerosol-forming article A.

Further, referring to a schematic cross-sectional view of the uppersupport mechanism 50 after the assembly of the rigid support member 51and the flexible support member 52 shown in FIG. 7 . The long and thinstrip protrusions 511 are arranged closer to the upper end, while thecircular protrusions 521 are relatively farther away and closer to thelower end. During use, the highest protruding heights of the long andthin strip protrusions 511 and the circular protrusions 521 aredifferent. Specifically, since the circular protrusions 521 are flexibleand can be elastically retracted, the protruding height of the circularprotrusions 521 is slightly greater than the protruding height of thestrip protrusions 511 in the structure, usually about 1 mm to 3 mmhigher; and when the aerosol-forming article A is received in thecavity, the protrusions hold the aerosol-forming article A together atdifferent axial positions with appropriate tightness, so as to keep thecentral axis of the aerosol-forming article A coincident with the heater30 as much as possible.

In the implementation, the long and thin strip protrusions 511 and thecircular protrusions 521 have different surface friction coefficients,which makes the resistance gradually increase during the process inwhich the aerosol-forming article A is received in the cavity, and cankeep the received aerosol-forming article A stable without slightlyshaking or falling out of the receiving hole 111 during inclined use.

Certainly, in a preferred implementation shown in the figure, quantitiesof the long and thin strip protrusions 511 and the circular protrusions521 are both even, and are all arranged symmetrically along the centralaxis of the upper support mechanism 50. In this way, the aerosol-formingarticle A is clamped more stably.

In addition, the long and thin strip protrusions 511 and the circularprotrusions 521 are relatively staggered along the axial direction,which is beneficial to preventing the inclination or eccentricity of theaerosol-forming article A.

Further, in the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 , a longand thin slit or groove 5211 extending along the length direction of theupper support mechanism 50 is arranged on the surface of the circularprotrusions 521. The long and thin slit or groove 5211 can reduce acontact area between the surface of the circular protrusions 521 and theaerosol-forming article A, which is beneficial to reducing the frictionresistance during the movement of the aerosol-forming article A.

Further, in order to facilitate the assembly of the rigid support member51 and the flexible support member 52, referring to FIG. 8 . Theflexible support member 52 has an inner wall 522 and an outer wall 523arranged sequentially from inside to outside along the radial direction,and a clamping cavity 524 formed between the inner wall 522 and theouter wall 523. The rigid support member 51 includes a portion 513 witha reduced thickness. During the assembly, the portion 513 with a reducedthickness of the rigid support member 51 is extended into the clampingcavity 524 and is clamped by the inner wall 522 and the outer wall 523.

In addition, the upper support mechanism 50 further includes apositioning mechanism, which provides positioning assistance andprevents detachment during the assembly of the rigid support member 51and the flexible support member 52. For example, in the implementationshown in FIG. 8 , the positioning mechanism includes a groove or hole512 formed on the portion 513 with a reduced thickness of the rigidsupport member 51, and correspondingly, includes a convex 525 matchingthe groove or hole 512 and arranged on the flexible support member 52.

The rigid support member 51 is provided with several extending parts 514in a sheet shape which are located at the outermost layer along theradial direction and extend along the axial direction. The surface ofthe extending part 514 is used to abut against the heat insulationmechanism 40, so as to be fixed with the heat insulation mechanism 40.

In another variant implementation shown in FIG. 10 , an inner wall of anupper support mechanism 50 b is provided with a circular protrusion 511b; and a lower support mechanism 60 b provides a stop along the axialdirection for the aerosol-forming article A, and further has aprotrusion 611 b with an inclined surface clamping and abutting in theradial direction. Therefore, the aerosol-forming article A is supportedin the radial direction at different heights respectively near the upperend and the lower end of the cavity, so as to clamp the aerosol-formingarticle A received in the cavity.

It should be noted that, the specification of this application and theaccompanying drawings thereof illustrate preferred embodiments of thisapplication. However, this application may be implemented in variousdifferent forms, and is not limited to the embodiments described in thisspecification. These embodiments are not intended to be an additionallimitation on the content of this application, and are described for thepurpose of providing a more thorough and comprehensive understanding ofthe content disclosed in this application. Moreover, the foregoingtechnical features are further combined to form various embodiments notlisted above, and all such embodiments shall be construed as fallingwithin the scope of this application. Further, a person of ordinaryskill in the art may make improvements or modifications according to theforegoing description, and all the improvements and modifications shallfall within the protection scope of the attached claims of thisapplication.

1: A vapor generation device, configured to heat an aerosol-formingarticle to generate an aerosol for inhalation, the device comprising ahousing, wherein the housing is internally provided with: a cavity,configured to receive the aerosol-forming article; at least one heater,configured to heat the aerosol-forming article; and a support mechanism,constructed to surround at least a part of the cavity, wherein an innersurface of the support mechanism is provided with a plurality of firstprotrusions and a plurality of second protrusions spaced along acircumferential direction of the cavity, configured to provide supportalong a radial direction for inhalable materials received in the cavityto clamp the aerosol-forming article received in the cavity; and thefirst protrusion and the second protrusion are arranged in a spacedmanner along an axial direction of the cavity. 2: The vapor generationdevice according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of first protrusionsand the plurality of second protrusions are staggered from each other onthe inner surface of the support mechanism along the axial direction ofthe cavity. 3: The vapor generation device according to claim 1, whereinone of the plurality of first protrusions and the plurality of secondprotrusions is rigid, and the other is flexible. 4: The vapor generationdevice according to claim 1, wherein the housing is provided with areceiving hole at one end, and the aerosol-forming article is receiveddetachably in the cavity through the receiving hole; and the pluralityof first protrusions are closer to the receiving hole than the pluralityof second protrusions. 5: The vapor generation device according to claim4, wherein a surface of the second protrusion is provided with a longand thin slit or groove extending along the axial direction of thesupport mechanism. 6: The vapor generation device according to claim 1,wherein the support mechanism comprises an annular rigid support memberand an annular flexible support member arranged coaxially; and theplurality of first protrusions are formed on the inner surface of therigid support member, and the plurality of second protrusions are formedon the inner surface of the flexible support member. 7: The vaporgeneration device according to claim 6, wherein the flexible supportmember comprises an inner wall and an outer wall arranged sequentiallyfrom inside to outside along the radial direction, and a clamping cavityformed between the inner wall and the outer wall; and the rigid supportmember is at least partially retained in the clamping cavity. 8: Thevapor generation device according to claim 1, wherein the cavitycomprises a near end and a far end facing away from each other along theaxial direction; the support mechanism comprises a first support memberwith the first protrusion and a second support member with the secondprotrusion; and the first support member is adjacent to the near end ofthe cavity, and the second support member is adjacent to the far end ofthe cavity. 9: The vapor generation device according to claim 1, whereinthe plurality of first protrusions have a surface friction coefficientdifferent from that of the plurality of second protrusions. 10: Thevapor generation device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality offirst protrusions and/or the plurality of second protrusions aresymmetrically arranged along a central axis of the cavity. 11: A vaporgeneration device, configured to heat an aerosol-forming article togenerate an aerosol for inhalation, the device comprising a housing,wherein the housing is internally provided with: a cavity, configured toreceive the aerosol-forming article; at least one heater, configured toheat the aerosol-forming article; and a support mechanism, comprising arigid support member and a flexible support member, at least a part ofthe rigid support member surrounding the cavity, wherein: the flexiblesupport member is provided with an outer surface and an inner surfaceopposite to each other along a radial direction, the inner surface isprovided with a plurality of protrusions spaced along a circumferentialdirection of the cavity, and the protrusion protrudes from the innersurface toward the cavity to provide an elastically retractable supportalong the radial direction for inhalable materials received in thecavity, so as to clamp the aerosol-forming article. 12: The vaporgeneration device according to claim 2, wherein one of the plurality offirst protrusions and the plurality of second protrusions is rigid, andthe other is flexible. 13: The vapor generation device according toclaim 2, wherein the housing is provided with a receiving hole at oneend, and the aerosol-forming article is received detachably in thecavity through the receiving hole; and the plurality of firstprotrusions are closer to the receiving hole than the plurality ofsecond protrusions. 14: The vapor generation device according to claim13, wherein a surface of the second protrusion is provided with a longand thin slit or groove extending along the axial direction of thesupport mechanism. 15: The vapor generation device according to claim 2,wherein the support mechanism comprises an annular rigid support memberand an annular flexible support member arranged coaxially; and theplurality of first protrusions are formed on the inner surface of therigid support member, and the plurality of second protrusions are formedon the inner surface of the flexible support member. 16: The vaporgeneration device according to claim 15, wherein the flexible supportmember comprises an inner wall and an outer wall arranged sequentiallyfrom inside to outside along the radial direction, and a clamping cavityformed between the inner wall and the outer wall; and the rigid supportmember is at least partially retained in the clamping cavity. 17: Thevapor generation device according to claim 2, wherein the cavitycomprises a near end and a far end facing away from each other along theaxial direction; the support mechanism comprises a first support memberwith the first protrusion and a second support member with the secondprotrusion; and the first support member is adjacent to the near end ofthe cavity, and the second support member is adjacent to the far end ofthe cavity. 18: The vapor generation device according to claim 2,wherein the plurality of first protrusions have a surface frictioncoefficient different from that of the plurality of second protrusions.19: The vapor generation device according to claim 2, wherein theplurality of first protrusions and/or the plurality of secondprotrusions are symmetrically arranged along a central axis of thecavity.